You take a moment to stop, set your weapon aside and tentatively smell the air. At first, the experience is pleasant and refreshing, the cold mountain air reinvigorating you after your hike. But then the strong, almost overpowering smell of monster crap fills your nose, and you fight the urge to throw up. Man...what has this thing been eating?

You've been tracking the Stone Lion in the mountains for about a day and a half now. The green rolling hills around you give way into grey and snowy caps ahead. Off in the distance, you can see the long staircase leading up to the village's shrine. You think for a moment that a mountain shrine was probably not the smartest or safest place to build, but then again you never figured the gods to be very practical. Right now's a good time to go hunting for these beasts, and since your pockets have been a little light the past month, you figure that you can load up on some cash until you pick up a new hobby.

You bend over and inspect the knee high pile of monster waste. It's definitely fresh. The Stone Lion was here less than an hour ago, and a load of this size means that it's probably going to get hungry soon. Now would be the time to make your move in chasing it, so you stop to consider your options.

Obviously, just chasing directly after it would be the fastest. You've fought and killed Stone Lions before. It'll be a little tough since you're by yourself but with all your experience, you're sure to win. Though, to be honest, you might come out a little worse for wear...

You could bait it into a trap. This would be the most cunning option, but it would also take a lot of setup and, more importantly, a large chunk of your time and energy. Sure, you could probably make the inevitable fight easier on yourself, but you won't be able to return to the village before night falls, and you'll likely have to camp out here with a rotting carcass.

You reach out and pick up your weapon, the traditional Hunter's Sword. You draw it from its sheath and inspect it. Almost two meters long, with a hilt in equal proportion to the blade. The large, thick cutting edge of the weapon has been carved meticulously from monster bone, and many of the hunters in your village struggled to master this weapon with two hands. You, however, are much, much more gifted than they are. With you give the weapon a few test swings, handling its impressive heft with relative ease.

Yeah, that feels right. You sling the sword over your shoulder and prepare for the hunt. There'll be no running and hiding today: not for the Lion nor you. You leap over the rocks and ascend the mountain path, being well familiar with all the myriad ways and hunting trails on these mountains. You can remember being taught these simple animal trails as a child by your father, who was a master hunter himself before he took ill.

The sparse grass eventually gives way to grey stone and rubble, and you hear the babbling of the stream in the distance. The Stone Lion must be looking for a meal of fish today. That's good for you. It will just make it easier to clean the beast's hide once you're done gutting it.

You round the edge of the mountain to find your quarry: the "invincible" Stone Lion. Almost three meters tall and eight meters long, this monster puts the real King of Beasts to shame. While massive in size, it is like its lesser cousin in all ways except one. The hairless, marbled hide that covers the monster is as tough as any rock, and is the true prize from any hunt. Its pelt, for a lack of a better word, is why you've taken the time to track this creature down.

>>31372698You give an echoing shout to the monster, alerting it to your presence. The Stone Lion hears your challenge, and rises from the stream to accept. It issues its own roar, which rattles your bones and almost makes you lose your footing. You'd forgotten how truly frightening these things are. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to come alone...

The Stone Lion snarls at you, raising its paw far above its head, then bringing it crashing down to the ground. The earth splits and a gaping maw in the world races towards you, threatening to swallow you whole. You know this tactic, a favorite of the Stone Lion. With its natural mastery over the powers of earth, it creates crevasses in the ground to trap its prey. Once they have fallen into its pit, the Lion takes its time eating its meal alive.

This Lion doesn't mean to just defend itself. It means to sate its hunger on you!

But you'll have none of that today! You jump aside, dodging the obvious blow, but before you can land, the Lion has torn a second gash in the earth. Then a third. Then a fourth! Though you can easily read the Lion's movements, you are rapidly running out of ground to stand on. Can you figure out some way to save yourself...?

Combat is performed via a simple rock-paper-scissors triangle. You, as the players, have the advantage of always acting after your opponent or opponents. Through cues in the descriptive text, you must determine which of three Tactics to adopt. Adopting the correct tactic causes you to gain a point of Advantage. Adopting an incorrect tactic will cause your opponent to gain a point of Advantage. If you both select the same tactic, both you and your opponents gain a point of Advantage.

Combat can be up to five Exchanges. The first to gain three points of Advantage is the victor. While losing a fight will not typically cause the quest to end, it will lead to unpleasant and usually severe consequences.

The three Tactics are as follows:

Strike

Strikes are fast, precision based attacks. Any attack which seems like it may rely on overwhelming speed or pinpoint accuracy is likely a Strike. As a general rule of thumb, most mundane small arms fire is considered a Strike. Strikes defeat Crashes, but are defeated by Guards.

Crash

A Crash is a highly telegraphed, but extremely powerful blow. Any attack which seems to rely mostly on the brute strength or overwhelming force is likely a Crash. As a general rule of thumb, most thrown objects, like trees or boulders, are considered Crashes. Crashes defeat Guards, but are defeated by Strikes.

Guard

A Guard is a defensive posture or evasive stance which is used to set up a counter-blow. Any attack which appears as if it could be a feint, focuses on counterattacks, or which seems to be a stalling tactic is likely to be a Guard. Guards defeat Strikes, but are defeated by Crashes.

>>31372742You finally find a spot to land, but not before the mountainside begins to split under the command of the Stone Lion. Its roar forces the rock beneath it to dance to its tune, and with only a human's strength, you can't hope to match this power! You've got to do something!

>>31372976>Strike SuccessfulAn idea strikes you. A terrible, awful idea, but one you're sure will work all the same. You leap away from the creeping chasm and swing your sword back in a wide arc. The momentum carries you backwards and you land with your feet against the sheer cliffside. You've got less than a second before cruel gravity regains its hold on you. You peer at the Stone Lion, looking for a small kink, a wrinkle, an old wound...anything in its flesh that you can use to your advantage in your next attack. And you see it. Just above its eye, you see the small vestiges of a scar. Perhaps from a fellow cub before its hide toughened up? You could never guess, but you have your target all the same.

You flip your sword around in your hand, preparing it like a javelin instead of the hacking blade it really is. In the moment before you fall to the ground, you pull back and release your sword, sending it out like a bolt of lightning toward your foe. The bone edge strikes true in the Lion's skull, but...damn! The wound was too shallow. As you tumble to the ground, the gashes in the earth close up, allowing you freedom of movement once more.

You don't have any time to waste. You run up to the Stone Lion to retrieve your weapon. You won't get anywhere with this beast bare-handed. Before you can grasp the hilt, the Lion recovers from your precision strike, lashing out with a barrage of its own. All four paws come at you at once as the Lion leaps forward and pins you to the ground. Its crushing weight threatens to snap your bones in an instant, and you rock back and forth while prone to evade its slashes. Your sword dangles on its face just out of reach as it continues its assault. Finally, the Lion's eyes narrow and it bares its fangs. It rakes its claws out while closing its jaw around your neck.

You stretch out with your hand to the fullest, your elbow feeling like it's going to dislocate itself from the effort. But you manage to make it! You snatch the sword out from the Lion's wound and immediately slide the blade between the closing jaws of the beast. As it clamps down, you can hear the wet crunch of its jawbones tearing apart on the Hunter's Sword. It leaps back, kicking you away with its hind legs. You skid backwards on the ground for a few feet before you manage to catch the dirt and begin to roll out of the blow. As you come to your senses and get back on your feet, you see the Stone Lion shaking its debilitated jaw. Blood drips from its mouth, and several of its teeth dangle from their gums. It seems dizzy, the monster must be on its last legs.

The Stone Lion roars. This may be its final moments, but it's not going to give in and die. The mountain earth answers its call and begins to coat the animal in layers of rock and dirt, adding to its already impressive stone hide. The broken jaw is held in place by layers of pebble and river rock, and its teeth are replaced by sharp flint and crystal. The Stone Lion is lord of the earth, after all. Why should it not call upon its domain in its dying hour?

Well, help or no help, you're not going to let it get away. You ready the Hunting Sword, placing both hands on the hilt. You've nearly been killed twice already, time to get serious. The Lion charges, the stone gathering around it more and more with every step. The earthen armor grows so thick that you can hardly tell where the Lion begins and the stone ends anymore. But you wouldn't have it any other way. This is the part of the hunt you live for!

You raise your weapon and charge, a battle cry leaving your lips. One way or another, it's time to end this!

>>31373967>Crash SuccessfulYou meet the Lion head on. There's no room for fear, doubt, or retreat when fighting monsters. You've got to be bold and impetuous, words that probably describe you better than you'd like. The Lion's eyes never leave yours as he hurtles towards you. In the back of your mind, you think he knows what's coming. That some portion of the Lion is aware of his fate, and has accepted it as part of some endless cycle of nature. But that's more philosophical than you generally like to be, so you push the thought out of your mind and bring your sword down.

With a twist of your waist and a sharp cry, you sidestep the Lion's final attack and cut down through the back of its neck. Your hunting sword does its work, using its unbelievable weight to carve a path through the Lion's throat. Your weapon breaks through the other side, and cleanly part's the Stone Lion's head from its shoulders. The body continues to run forward for a few more steps before crashing into the ground and tumbling into the side of the mountain. The Lion's head rolls on the mountain floor, snapping at empty air until its spirit finally departs.

Your father would pray at this point, offering thanks to the world for such a bounty. But you're not your father. You pick up the discarded head and play with the jaw for a few moments, enjoying the macabre hand puppet for a time. After you've had your fun, you get back to work. You'll never be able to carry this much weight back to the village, as much as you'd like to dine on Stone Lion for the better part of the month. Instead, you set to work, using your weapon to skin the beast and take several choice cuts from its flesh for dinner.

>>31374238After you finish, you realize that you haven't brought an offering to the Shrine yet this week. You're not that much of a worshiper (and who really is these days?) but you've got your own reasons for making the tribute. It'll be a little gamey, but you could cut another slab of meat for your offering. You're sure to turn heads with a gift to the gods like this. But then again, do you really want that kind of attention, not to mention the extra burden on the way back?

>Take an extra cut of meat.>Don't. Some meat pie from town will be fine.

It'll be a pain to carry, but you'd better bring back a good portion for the gods at the Shrine. You sigh and bend over the corpse one more time, trying to pick out something better than the flank to cut from...

--

It's late afternoon by the time you get back to the village, but you're glad to be back. Valleyheid. Your home. You grew up in this village, and you've never been more than a day's journey away from it. Though your little village us part of the Empire, you've never seen any of the supposed modern conveniences that come from that relationship. Your village is boring and dusty and rural, and the other young people in the village caught onto it.

As you walk down the main road that goes through the town, you're reminded of just how many people have abandoned it. You'd be surprised if two hundred people lived here now, but when you were a boy, it had almost a thousand. Abandoned farms, houses, and shops are everywhere. Most of the young people left first, headed for better parts of the Empire where trade is flourishing. Then, they came back for their parents and other relatives. As you enter the desolate trading post, you can see that the only footprints in here are your own, and you left those in here last week. By now, the only people left are the bereaved or the utterly stubborn.

Old Man Hundr, the village elder, is both. He glares at you from behind the counter and scoffs.

"Well, well, if it isn't Ekard? Decided to finally go hunt instead of causing us more trouble? Maybe you could go tell that to the other two members of your little gang?"

"I suppose I can be thankful enough for that. These monster hides are about the only reason the Empire puts up with us. Well, exceptin' the Shrine anyway."

Old Man Hundr drops a bag of coin on the table and you snatch it up greedily. You don't really get to go spend it, everything in town works on trade, but you've been saving up coin for your own trip into the heart of the Empire one day. You hear that they have things like running water, cold torches, and even exotic dancers from far off lands. You're not sure what an exotic dancer is, but once you've got enough money, you're going to blow this joint and find out.

"Oi, you been getting ready for the Trial Festival? You know you never decided to join in one of em, Ekard. It might be a good idea to give it a go before you run off with all our money too."

What? That festival's for kids. You're not about to get caught playing around with that stupid stuff. You tuck the coins away and adjust your pack. You've got some meat to go dry, but after that, you think you'd better...

>>31375701Before you leave the trading post, you stretch a slab of beef over the drying rack and wave Old Man Hundr goodbye, thanking him for more delicious gold. Speaking of delicious, you'd better get this offering to the Shrine delivered before it spoils. The last time you delivered something rotten, it didn't rain for almost a month.

You walk to the end of town and look up at the staircase before you. You've been told it's ten-thousand steps up the path to the Shrine. You really wish they had built a ramp so you could take a horse or something...

You sigh and start up the steps. It's going to be a long climb.

--

Stupid gods and their stupid offerings. What do you care if it doesn't rain? What do you care if it freezes? You're not a farmer. You shouldn't have to do any of this.

As you grumble, you realize you've actually finished climbing the hellish stairway into the heavens. Or at least, to the top of this mountain. The Shrine is a mansion by another name. Surrounded on all sides by gardens, water fountains, and elaborate sculptures, the Shrine is everything that you wish you could afford. As you pass through the archway into the courtyard, you hear a crash. You turn your head and see a small, dirty shack rattle and shake, and you hear the sound of ceramic breaking. In a few minutes, a young woman bumbles through the door, dropping a tray. There is one final crash as what used to be a tea set is ruined on the paved floor.

>>31376432The woman, swathed in red and white robes, puts a hand to her mouth for a few seconds, then shouts.

"No!! That was the special Friendship-Level-Up-Set that Lord Fenri gifted me with last year! What am I going to do!?"

...You're pretty sure that was a common tea set made by the old lady who used to run the tea garden in town. In fact, you were there when she donated that to the Shrine. Did she just forget where she got it and make up some stupid story? The girl throws herself to the ground in front of you, shivering with fear.

"I, your humble servant Rikki, have failed in my duties as a shrine maiden and as a friend! There is only one thing to do!"

She Pulls out a knife and starts to pull at her long, white hair.

"I'll shave my head and cut off my ears!"

You pluck the knife from her hands and shake your head. Rikki is one of your closest friends, or what passes for a friend around here. You aren't surprised to see this level of drama and idiocy from her at this point. She blinks, having already lost her train of thought. A long white tail swishes behind her, and slightly droopy ears twitch on her head. Any other person would be shocked to see these traits, but you've long been aware of it: Rikki is a demigod. Specifically, an offshoot of the clan of gods that lives in this Shrine.

After a few moments, Rikki snaps back to alertness, whatever passing thought she had vanishing into the wind...

>>31376780An awful, terrible, utterly devious idea overtakes you. So you decide to indulge it. You pull Rikki aside and tell her that even though she broke her Friendship Tea Set-

"Friendship-Level-Up-Set."

Whatever. Even though she broke it, you know of a good way that she can still level up your friendship. It's easy and Lord Fenri won't even get mad that the tea set broke.

"What? Really!? That's amazing! Show me, show me!"

Yes, yes. So Rikki is going to need to spin in a circle, hop on one leg, then bark three times while doing a handstand.

"Aye, sir!"

With no delay, Rikki goes through with your ridiculous idea. You fight to contain a laugh as she struggles to keep the hem of her robes up while doing her handstand. She manages to get two barks out before falling over and having to start from the beginning. You bite your lip. If she does any more of this, you're seriously going to lose it.

You swallow hard, then turn around. At the top of the stairs stands your other friend. If her barbed voice didn't tip you off, her signature dark cloak and oversized hat might. Rikki immediately stops what she's doing and leaps over to the latest addition to your little outing.

"Tayka! I missed you so much! I haven't seen you since yesterday!"

Tayka runs a black gloved hand through Rikki's hair and scratches her ears. Tayka's always been so gentle with Rikki, even if she enjoys her share of teasing too. In some ways, you're jealous of how close they are, but you're not sure exactly who you're jealous of.

"I missed you too, Rikki. Don't listen to Ekard any more today, okay? How about we get some new tea and I'll go ask Ekard just what he's doing here?"

Her sharp eyes pierce your soul and you sheepishly back off. It's no exaggeration to say that Tayka has had you both in the palm of her hands ever since she moved in so long ago. The people in town called you the Troublemaker Three, and Tayka has always been your leader. Ever since she started living on her own, she's been the town apothecary, lending her not-insignificant wit to curing daily aches and pains. With the town growing older, these have become more and more necessary.

>>31377321You tell Tayka where she can shove your meat, and walk off into the sunset. Not five steps later, you find yourself impaled by a spear of ice. Strength fades from your body and you tumble down the steps. As your vision blurs, you see her dark figure standing over you.

>>31377321>Angered, she kicks you down the steps of the shrine. You die an agonizing death as you hit each and every of the 10,000 steps.

Relax Anon, paranoia comes later.

Also, I choose to inform all of the other anons that I have picked my waifu of the 2 female characters we have been introduced to so far and will defend to the death our right to be in love with her. I chose whatever one you didn't pick.

>>31377453Like you have any meat to spare for a witch who doesn't even come hunting with you. You could have died out there today, and what was Tayka doing? Just sitting on her little ass all day. You're not very impressed.

"What was that? I was doing important research today! This is work that could revolutionize the world as we know it!"

Does she mean something like that personal flying machine that didn't pan out? Oh, or maybe she meant the automatic tea warmer? Or maybe the auto-maid? All of those were such successful inventions that you can't even think of one little reason why they didn't catch on and she isn't raking in millions of coin at the moment instead of tending to sick old people in a ghost town.

Tayka growls at you, chewing on the tip of her glove in frustration. You can see her start to mouth some unintelligible words, and you know that can only mean one thing. Reflexively, you hit the dirt and cover your head. You feel a wave of heat wash over you and a small explosion detonates a few feet away.

Hey! You thought that Tayka agreed to no spells during arguments.

"And I thought you promised to keep me well fed for life!"

This and that are different things!

"I don't see it as any different. Aren't you a man? Or is it too hard to keep up with your obligations?"

You ready another insult, but Rikki leaps between the two of you. She puts her hands up and crosses them, huffing.

"No fighting! It's tea time and tea time is love time! Everyone loves each other during tea time!"

You sigh and give up. Tayka's pretty fierce, but there's no dealing with Rikki when she's decided to be this way. Tayka goes back to petting Rikki and sticks her tongue out at you while you head into the shack to prepare for tea. Rikki offered to make it, but she messed up the last few times. Should you bother with it, or maybe just get the daily check up over with?

>Make sure Rikki gets the tea right, at least>Chat with your friends. They are your friends...right?>Drop off your offering and get home before Tayka sets you off again.

>>31377699>Could we possibly make armor or gear out of monster parts in the future? Your Hunter's Sword is already made out of monster parts. You sell most of it, just because nobody in town knows how to make gear anymore. Well, there's Tayka but Tayka's kind of...

>>31377734>Chat with your friends. They are your friends...right?... nah, we're just going to tell them that we finally have enough cash to blow this town and leave. Rikki is a good girl and we will miss her, we should tell her so. Tayka... I've got nothing.

You lean back in a chair and put your feet up on the table. Time for another meeting of the Troublemaker Three...you guys really need to get a better name for yourselves. Tayka sits down opposite you while Rikki boils another pot of tea.

"So...a Stone Lion? I would say I was impressed if I didn't already know that you were a headstrong idiot."

Rikki hands Tayka a cup of tea before returning to fill your own. The neighbourhood witch finally takes off her hat, brushing her bobbed black hair aside while she takes a sip.

"Come on, Tayka! Ekard is probably the strongest boy in the village! I'm super impressed! By the way, what's a Stone Lion?"

You take a cup of tea from Rikki and indulge yourself in a taste. Damn. Really bitter.

"Rikki, a Stone Lion is a kind of magical beast--a monster. It uses Lucitons to control inorganic minerals around it."

"L-lucy tonnes?"

"Please, Rikki. I must have taught you this a thousand times. Surely even this musclehead remembers by now," Tayka shoots you a threatening glance,"Right?"

>>31378383You sort of zone Tayka out whenever she goes on her longwinded explainations. It's made your life so much more tolerable to not have to listen to her prattle on and on about the mysteries of the universe that have nothing to do with your life. Tayka grits her teeth. Fuming, she sets her cup down and lights a small flame over her finger.

"If we weren't at tea time, I would singe the hair off your...you know!"

Rikki frowns at Tayka and puts her hands on her hips. Finally, Tayka puts the fire away and resumes her normal routine.

"Lucitons are special motes of dust that come from the sun. They're the source of all magic in the world. Special creatures like gods and monsters can use Lucitons to do all sorts of things. Normal people like meathead have to use special tools to make Lucitons do things. The Empire's Pillars of Light are how most people work with magic, channeling its power through devices."

Rikki claps her hands together and hops in place.

"Whoah, so you're a god, Tayka? I never knew!"

Tayka puts her head in her hands and sighs.

"No, no, sorcery is much more complex. We have to go to the Pillars and... Anyway, Lucitons are magic. The Emperor is so strong with magic that people call him the Sun King. You remember that, right?"

"Lord Fenri said we have to obey the Sun King, and I'm absolutely not ever supposed to let him see me. It's a secret!"

You can imagine why. Rikki's existence is a taboo. You remember hearing that demigods were purged by the Empire a long time ago, so she's probably a liability. Speaking of that, isn't the Festival of the Trial tomorrow? Will the Emperor really be coming here?

"Probably not," Tayka swallows more of the bitter drink, "It'll probably be one of his stupid functionaries or something. I don't like the huge crowd coming up here grab at some dumb sword, but at least we won't have to worry about the real Emperor coming to check on us."

>The sword?>How big will the crowd be this year?>You don't want to see the Emperor either.

>>31378733>You don't want to see the Emperor either.Don't really like the sword option. Ekard knows about the festival, which seems to center around the sword, so why would he ask such a basic question? Unless there is more to the question that Ekard might ask, which you are omitting since 'wut sword?' is sufficient for most of the players whom didn't read the previews.

"Yeah, seems that people still believe that they're going to be the chosen one to become a new King. How pig-headed do you have to be to think you're some special chosen one that's set to become one of the most powerful men in the world?"

You have to be pretty arrogant or pretty dumb. That sword hasn't been budged for ten thousand years, and it's not going to budge just because some kid from the city wants to pull a muscle tugging at it.

"It's not like it's never happened," Rikki pours you a new cup of tea. You find yourself wishing she hadn't, "There were other special sword things, right? They got pulled didn't they?"

Tayka puts a hand over her cup to stop Rikki from giving her another helping. Lucky bit-

"True, five other Caliburs got pulled in the past thousand years. That brings the running total up to ten, but you can't be so optimistic, Rikki. You've just got to accept that some people are going to do pointless things. Like Ekard!" Tayka always manages to bring the conversation back to you. It's pretty irritating, "He keeps saving up all that money, but he's never actually going to leave town."

"But that's just because he loves us so much and doesn't want to leave us alone! Right, Ekard? We're friends, so we're gonna be together forever!"

>Yeah.>You really will go see the Empire one day!>So, how about that offering?

>>31379312You really are going to leave for the Empire one day. You just don't have enough money yet to go on that whirlwind adventure you've been planning your whole life.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. You must have a small fortune from all those monster parts you've been selling. I bet you could buy a boat if you wanted."

"Oh! Oh! If you buy a boat, can you name it the Swimming Rikki? I always wanted to swim in the ocean, so if you name it after me, it'll be like I really got to see it!"

Alright, that was actually really pathetic so you're just going to get this offering done with so you can go home.

"That's right! We have to get it to the gods before the meat starts to spoil! Quick, quick! Give me your meat!"

"Rikki...this is why we didn't let you talk to the village boys..."

You take the offering from your pack and hand it to Rikki, who marches outside, actually looking competent for a change. She rings a chime at the doorway to the palatial Shrine and bows with the slab of meat held high over her head. The door slowly opens, and you see a figure emerge. The figure shares all of Rikki's unusual characteristics, but is dressed in a luxurious purple robe with flowing tassels and ribbons. Bright red markings cover their face and hands, and they look at you with utter disdain.

"Lord Fenri, I have an offering for you. The meat of a Stone Lion, as presented to me by Ekard. He slew the beast by himself, in your honor and name."

Without a word, Fenri grabs the offering and retreats back into his Shrine. Geez, someone's not very grateful. But then again, you never liked the gods much anyway. With her job finished, Rikki stands up and dusts herself off.

"So, that's that for today. Please come back tomorrow for the Festival. I always wait for you to show up, but neither of you come. It gets so lonesome being stuck in that shack!"

>Sure, you'll definitely come to the Festival.>You'll show up if you feel like it.

Maybe if the Festival was actually interesting, you'd bother to show up. For now, you have to go pick up your dinner and...wait, where did Tayka go?

"She left earlier when I was talking to Lord Fenri. Didn't you notice her leave? She had such a big grin! I wonder if she heard a good joke?"

The joke is on you if you can't get home fast enough! That witch is going to steal your meal! You give a quick wave to Rikki as you start to run down the ten thousand mountain steps, desperate to get home in time to salvage at least some of your dinner.

--

Morning calls, and you wake up with a big yawn and a rumbling in your stomach. In the end, you never made it in time for your meal, and Tayka only left you scraps and a mocking note. You can already hear the sound of music filtering into the small hovel you live in. Though your father took ill and passed several years ago, this place is still just a little bit too small for you. You get out of bed and fix yourself a quick bowl of porridge before getting around to your daily routine. Four hundred push-ups, six hundred sit ups, two hundred pull ups, and finally a brisk jog up the mountain paths. You expect it to fill out your morning and let you skip the opening ceremony.

Or, you suppose you could skip the daily workout and see what's going on with this Festival for a change. You never actually attended, so it would be a new experience.

>Who has the patience for a ceremony? Time to get sweaty.>You are just a little bit curious about it. Just a little.>Forget either of those, time to pay Tayka some revenge.

>>31380175>>31380201Or we could just miss the opening ceremony, doesn't matter as long as we bump into the sword at some point. For some reason I literally imagined bumping into the sword and that's how it get's dislodged or whatever, instead of being drawn properly.

>>31380240You can't miss your routine. As your father said, strength comes from diligence and...somewhere else. Probably the core. Can't neglect those core muscles. You set yourself to your daily training with all enthusiasm. It's at these times that you truly feel at peace. One with nature. Serene. Also you think you probably like the smell of sweat just a bit too much, but you're not going to consider what kind of man that makes you.

You begin your mountain jog after clearing away your daily reps. It's not a hard jog, but you try to keep a brisk pace and not avoid the troublesome patches of the mountain. You'd guess that you can run up to the summit of the mountain and back down again in just an hour these days. Not a bad pace at all for your average small-town hunter.

As you make your way up to the snowy caps, your realize that you're not alone out here. The sound of metal and chain clinking together reaches your ears, and you instinctively turn to see what's going on. There's...someone else here. Keeping up with you in a full suit of field plate. Lacquered to a deep blue finish, the armor is like nothing you've seen in this small village. Every single piece has been articulated and custom fitted to its owner, and it glides across their form without a single bit of resistance. What's more, despite the obvious weight such a piece of equipment may have, the runner doesn't seem to be hindered in the least. In fact...they're going to pass you!

You're left in the dust as the armored jogger passes you by, kicking up snow as they ascend to the peak, leaping over the loose gravel and ignoring the beaten path completely. You're completely dumbfounded. Just who was that?

Later on, you find yourself wandering through town. The place has practically come back to life with all these travellers, and the line to the Shrine wraps down the main road three times over. You see Tayka standing at the side of the ten-thousand steps. She's standing about where the Well should be, but for some reason, she has it covered with a sheet. As she recognizes you, she waves to you and motions for you to come over.

You've got nothing better to do, so you suppose you could. Mostly, though, you see this as a ripe opportunity for some Tayka abuse.

>Try to lecture her about last night. You're still kind of hungry.>Tease her. Is this another dud invention?>Physical humor is your strong suit.

>>31380437>Also you think you probably like the smell of sweat just a bit too much, but you're not going to consider what kind of man that makes you.If you enjoy the smell of sweat, then you're not a man at all!

So what's under the tarp? Is this another harebrained invention? Wait wait, you want to try to guess what it is today: An automatic egg cracker. A magical shoe shiner. A knife that's only good for cutting tomatoes?

Tayka seems much less enthused about your joke than you are, but that's fine by you. She ate your dinner, after all, so you're entitled to some good natured ribbing. However, after a few minutes of grumbling, she instead lifts the brim of her hat and shows you a proud smile.

"Not today, oats-for-brains. I finally completed a working prototype of my invention to end all other inventions! Are you excited? Does it make your skin crawl?"

No, but that creepy smile is certainly making you feel uncomfortable.

"Shut up and watch," Tayka pulls the tarp away and reveals the well. It looks about the same as it always did, except for two mechanisms hooked up to the bucket.

"Be amazed at my genius! Watch as the machine draws up the bucket from the bottom of the well, bringing you a cool drink at no effort!"

To your amazement, it actually works. The crowd is much less impressed. They complain that this kind of thing is normal in cities of the empire, and that's true. While you're simply wowed that it hasn't blown up, you know that this is common technology elsewhere. Tayka laughs and plays with her hat, rubbing the wide brim between her fingers.

"Yes, that's true, but what you don't know is this! This town has not been given access to the Pillars of Light! Being forced into the sticks, I have created my own Luciton generator! Behold, the Lightbox," She picks up a small buzzing contraption. A miniature cable runs from it to the bucket mechanism, "With this, you'll never be dependant on the Empire again for your daily needs! It's a revolution! A revolution!"

Well, maybe you are just a little impressed by that. Maybe this really could be a big invention. You feel a hand on your shoulder and you turn to see the armored figure from before. You can't see past their mask, but something tells you that they're not happy.

"Your friend here. Get her to shut up about this whole invention business and go home. It'll be best for everyone this way."

Tayka barks at the armored soldier, "Bah, already trying to crush my genius, huh? I won't stand for it! Before the season's out, this whole town will be hooked up with bigger, better versions of my Lightbox. What do you think of that!?"

You feel the hand on your shoulder grow taught, and the metal digs into your flesh. That...that really hurts!

>Maybe getting Tayka to shut up would be good?>He needs to let you go and talk about this.>This guy can't go around intimidating your friends.

>>31380775>Maybe getting Tayka to shut up would be good?Yeah... maybe you shouldn't go yelling 'revolution' when the Imperial representative and their badass knight are around.Maybe keeping your awesome invention on the down low is a good idea. Maybe Blue here is just doing her a favor, since if anyone important and assholish enough saw this she'd be in a lot of trouble. Maybe.

>>31380902This guy can't just walk in here and intimidate your friends on your watch. You decide that the most direct way to solve this issue is with a good punch in the face. Even if this guy's got armor on, you've knocked out a monster several times his size before. Someone like this should be no problem.

You draw your fist back, intent on sending him into next week, but for some reason, you find yourself sailing through the air. Most curious. How did such a thing happen? You don't have very long to ponder it as you tumble through the crowd of tourists and slide up to the courtyard of the Shrine. You gasp for breath as the world gets fuzzy. You turn over and crawl on your hands and knees for a few minutes, coughing up what air, spittle, and blood is left in your lungs.

You hear Rikki shouting at you through the window of her shack, but you just wave her away. You can't let her be seen right now. The clink of metal approaches, and you know the man in armor is coming. You reach behind your back and pull out your Hunter's sword. It's not made for fencing but...you think you're going to need it.

The blue soldier steps into the courtyard and throws Tayka's prone form at you. You can see a few singes on his armor, and you smell some burnt flesh in the air. Tayka must have put up some sort of fight, but for her to go down so quickly...

You draw your sword and get ready to defend yourself. The blue soldier reaches down to his side and readies his own sword, a slender, fanciful thing. On any other day, you wouldn't give such a weapon a second thought, but today has you nervous.

"I am Alexi DeLanger, Knight of the Winter King, loyal subject of the Emperor. We had been hearing reports of some heretical research being done in this village, and it seems the reports were true. I am a fair man, however, and I shall let you defend yourself. On guard!"

>>31381071You take a defensive stance and after a moment, Alexi disappears. You blink, trying to figure out what just happened, but as you do you notice his presence behind you. Reacting on pure instinct, you turn and slash with a single move, hoping to surprise him. But he's already gone.

"You've got good intuition, boy. But you're a bit slow in the head."

Alexi reappears and thrusts his sword at you. It takes everything you have just to turn this petty foil aside, and you feel your knees buckle under the strain. Again and again he repeats this pattern, flashing away only to stab at your back. What part of this is a fair fight!?

You catch the tip of the foil with the hilt of your sword. You can hear the wood and bone beneath it crack from the force of the blow. And this was just a light tap? With Alexi's weapon caught in your own, you seize the opportunity to turn the tables. You push his weapon to the ground and wind up with an overhead blow with your fist. Your hand slams into his helmet with all the strength you can muster. The straps holding the metal in place burst, and Alexi is driven back several feet while his helmet rattles around on his head. He recovers in an instant, throwing his dented armor away and staring down at you. His ash blonde hair doesn't even have a hint of sweat to it. Is he just not trying at all?

"You did well to score such a blow against a Knight. You must be quite experienced. However..."

Alexi is suddenly surrounded by a shroud of mist, and he steps back into the fog he has created.

"You shall not strike me again, hunter. I am far beyond any monster you have faced. Allow me to demonstrate the difference in our abilities."

The mist wraps around your legs and pulls you into the clouded fog. Before you know what's going on, you feel cold steel draw a line across the back of your leg, forcing you to kneel. As you try to fend off the attacks, you keep striking nothing but empty air. Each and every one of your swings does nothing but part the fog for the slightest instant while Alexi takes advantage of your openings. You can't keep fighting in this fog!

>>31381178>>31381383>implying getting Affection will actually matterHere's a prediction: all the girls are going to be attracted to the MC but nothing will actually happen with them until the end of the quest.

>>31381505/tg/ will never manipulate its friends, DXR has already said that we're not capable of leadership, and you're kidding yourself if you think it would be more than an aesthetic detail even if we could.

>>31381590I like his other quest just fine, but it's definitely a failing that he both went into the obnoxious trope of "the guy who says he doesn't want friends actually wants friends" and the unreliable narrator (which doesn't work in quest format).

>>31381477You slam the hilt of your sword into the ground and lean on it as you stand. One way or another, you're getting out of this fog! You raise your sword above your head and give a large, hefty swing, parting the fog. Then again, and again!

"You're wasting your time, hunter!"

You're not so sure about that. You grasp your sword and spin it above your head, using its impressive size and wide blade to push the air out from around you. It takes almost every ounce of strength you have, but you can feel the winds blowing away the mist. The deadly fog recedes, and you can see Alexi plain as day. Carrying the momentum from your swings, you dash forward and bash the pommel into his unsuspecting face, enjoying the sound of his cheekbones cracking. It's Alexi's turn to be sent hurtling into the distance, and you take a moment to catch your second wind while he smashes through the decorative statues around the Shrine.

"What amazing strength. Truly, I would not have guessed you human if I didn't know better."

You decide to take that as a compliment.

"I'll show you my sincere gratitude for such a display with this, my mortal blow! Steel will fall like rain!"

Alexi leaps into the air and holds his sword out. Though he makes only a single thrust with his blade, countless spears of water strike down, each of which easily cuts a large hole through the stone floor of the Shrine courtyard. Your legs and arms are all pierced in short order, but you retain enough of your mind to focus in on what must be done. Alexi is strong...he wasn't kidding when he said he was more than a monster. What can you do to fight something like this?

>>31381726I'm thinking back to what I think was the first fight vs diablos where he unleashed a flurry of needles(?) at us which we countered by covering covering up and weathering the storm with resurrect.

>>31381750>If you're too stupid to see the little flaws and hints the QM leaves that allow you to realize the narrator is unreliable or has blind spots... well.If you don't understand the QM's incredible vision... well.

In reality, writing is writing to the readers. If the readers, as a whole (there are always going to be a few dumbasses), don't receive the signal you're trying to send, then you're at fault, not the readers.

Normally, failing to notice something the QM is hinting at just results in you fucking things up or making bad decisions (and missing things the QM was hinting at happens a lot, don't pretend it's confined to this one scenario where obviously everyone except you was retarded). Using an unreliable narrator (at least as it showed up in DXQ) means that failure to notice the subtle hints means you're playing a different character from the one the QM is writing.

>How?Players play in line with the assumption that their character is who he says he is. The QM writes in line with the assumption that the character is not. Whenever conflict occurs (which is plenty often, since otherwise what's the point of using the unreliable narrator?), QM wins.

You clench your jaw and force yourself to stand straight. Your quarry is in sight. Monster or no monster, you're going to bring him down. Alive if possible, you still have a few questions to ask Alexi. You relax your grip, taking a one handed stance as you force what power you have into your legs. If Alexi is just going to sit up there and rain blows down upon you, you'll just have to take the fight to him.

You jump up, slashing wildly as you deflect the oncoming blades of water. Alexi sees your approach and doubles his efforts, but it's too late for him to stop you now! Even though you're wounded in many places, even though he continues to run you through with his magical attack, you're not going to back down. Your jump actually carries you past Alexi, and you turn around mid flight, unleashing a barrage of slashes with your weapon on his exposed back. His lacquered armor is torn asunder, and you see your weapon finally begin to draw blood. It seems as if things are finally going your way!

"That's enough!"

Alexi blinks out of sight, then reappears a few feet to your right. He snatches your weapon out of your hand and pulls you into a falling chokeslam. You feel the air forced out of your lungs as you hit the ground, and you bones creak and warp under the strain. The pain is incredible, and Alexi isn't done with you.

"Why don't you go pray, hunter? You will be leaving this world soon."

Alexi throws your limp body through the large gates to the Shrine. You tumble past the crowds of people and into the inner courtyard. Huh...you've never actually been in here before. It's really...quite pretty. The green ferns and pink blossomed trees are all very soothing, and you'd like to spend some more time here if you weren't currently bleeding out with several concussions.

You try to stand, reaching for something to support yourself with. You find something. Feels like a post, maybe? In any case, you drag yourself up and rest on it for a few moments. You see Alexi in the distance walking towards you. He seems to be laughing.

"Hunter, do you really mean to draw that against me? Go on, then, I'll wait."

What?

You look down at what you're grasping. It's a sword, embedded into the floor of the shrine. Its red and gold hilt are simple, but clearly of fine work. The blade is long, you suspect the entire weapon to be around one and a half meters, maybe a little more.

This must be it. The Calibur. You never bothered taking this ritual. It always seemed stupid to you. But maybe, just maybe...

You pull. And tug. And wrench. And heave. But the weapon will not move.

"Ha ha ha! Of course it won't move. Cur like you could never be a true King. Now just surrender along with your friend. We have a nice questioning cell with three square meals a day. As long as your friend agrees to stop with her heretical gadgets and tell us her secrets, we can all walk away from this intact."

Screw that. He ruined that chance the moment he decided to muscle in on you. You return your attention to the sword. This damn thing! What good is a sword that just stands around doing nothing!? You grasp it once more and pull. Your muscles are tearing, you can feel a few of your teeth crack as you clench your jaw. Your knees buckle, and your fingers begin to bleed.

The floor of the courtyard is breaking away. Not just a single tile, but the entire floor as well as the bedrock are being ripped apart. The ground and stone are clinging as tightly to the sword as ever, but they're no match for your strength. With a final heave, you tear the sword free of the earth, letting the stone fall away beneath it. As if it were waiting for such a thing, a soft red glow and a gentle hum overtakes the room. Strange lines of light race back and forth between the sword and you, and even stranger words, symbols, and pictures flash across the empty air.

>>31381975>The floor of the courtyard is breaking away.Fuck ye->With a final heave, you tear the sword free of the earth, letting the stone fall away beneath it.Aw, I thought we were just going to rip the stone it was stuck in out of the ground and hit the guy with a floor on a stick.

>>31382165One per day off. I've been getting two days off a week for a while now, just not always consecutively like this week.

>>31382173Haha. I worked on the setting with a couple other QMs Schteel and archelon and what each saw of it they thought was pretty cool, so I hope you guys really like it too. It's definitely got a lot more thought put into it than, say, New Zanzibar.

>>31382070I had to sleep through the second half, but the first half was solid and I thoroughly enjoyed catching up in the archive. Looking forward to the next session almost with as much anticipation as I am with DXQ later today. Good job OP.